Just like last year, I’ll be taking a break over the next four or five issues, so this is a shorter issue than would normally drop into your inbox. I hope that you enjoy this selection of links and pics, feel free to get in touch, and look forward to catching up later in the summer.
It’s been a busy week, writing and wrapping up various bits of work. Already the email is silent and will be even more so over the next few weeks as people continue to disperse. At home, it’s all been about the end of school, the end of the soccer season, and people starting to go on holiday. The pools are open, the weather has been good with just a few rumbles of thunder overnight.
I’ve been disappearing down rabbit holes, which is why this week might be a bit TikTok heavy. I know there’s a generational gap and most of the content is not for me but among the more commonly found videos are some real gems and it’s interesting to see how different communities are using this app. It’s worth reminding ourselves that it is the fastest growing social network, with 1.1 Billion users worldwide, 58% of which are female, and 89 million users in the US alone.1
Here we go.
Researchers are using the #sciencecommunication and #scicomm hashtags to talk about stories and share ideas. Also, worth reading this wired article on how climate change activists are using the platform. Tips for scholars creating content.
I enjoyed reading about the use of VR to train language medical interpreting. Last year one of our language graduates worked in a hospital providing end-of-life care, finding herself the only French-speaking person able to communicate with a family with a terminally ill child. The importance of languages in medical settings is vital.
We’ve already seen the role TikTok is playing in news reporting, especially with the war in Ukraine, here’s an updated google doc, listing publishers and journalists on TikTok.
I’ve already talked about the massive number of #languagelearning videos on TikTok, and here’s how Duolingo is generating content for the platform.
Older folks (60+) are using TikTok and following surprising hashtags.2
TikTok Cultures is a research network connecting scholars from across the world, supporting academic work, analysis, data collection, and publication. There are good resources here, including a .pdf on Teaching Socio-Cultural Issues on TikTok.
A thorough list of TikTok creators for Japanese language learning, a perfect blend of culture and SLA (free membership required).
Ezra Klein thinks TikTok may be more more dangerous than it looks.
You can speak directly into your browser with dictation.io, I tested it with French, it’s a little tricky and you have to make a few corrections as you go on, but a good start.
Song for this week…it is very beautiful, if the video distracts a little too much then hide it behind a window and just listen.
Thank you
Hope everything is good with you, let me know if you spot something for inclusion. These summer issues won’t always be themed like this one, but I tumbled so far I just had to include some of what I’d found.
See you next week.
https://quantummarketer.com/tiktok-statistics/
https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/advance-article/doi/10.1093/geront/gnac055/6581125
It's really interesting to see how people are using Tiktok not only for entertainment but also for sharing knowledge and language learning. I've also seen similar trends on other social network/content network in China (for example on Bilibili, a video platform, one of the biggest creators, Luo Xiang, is about sharing legal knowledge). These social platforms can definitely promote knowledge sharing but we shoudl also be aware of the mis-leading information (some of them intentional, some unintentional) mixed up in there.
Have a great summer!